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BrianG · 05.09.2008, 11:44 PM

If you try to merge the rails, be careful. I had a dual 12v supply and heatsink got quite hot quickly. Each rail would have to have EXACTLY the same voltage and even then I dunno.

Some PS units have a trimmer pot located somewhere on the PCB. You can use this to tweak up the voltage a little. I have one I was able to get to ~13v unloaded. Not only does this help keep the voltage above 12v when loaded a little, but the higher voltage requires less current at the same time. Be careful though, if you do see a pot, make SMALL changes while watching the voltage. If it doesn't change, put that pot back to the original position because it's being used for something else.

If the trimmer pot is not there, you can sometimes force a little better regulation by adding (or increasing) the preload on the 5v and/or 3.3v rail.

It sucks that all PSUs are not built the same because what works for one doesn't work for the other...

	(#2)
BrianG RC-Monster Admin Offline Posts: 14,609 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Des Moines, IA	05.09.2008, 11:44 PM If you try to merge the rails, be careful. I had a dual 12v supply and heatsink got quite hot quickly. Each rail would have to have EXACTLY the same voltage and even then I dunno. Some PS units have a trimmer pot located somewhere on the PCB. You can use this to tweak up the voltage a little. I have one I was able to get to ~13v unloaded. Not only does this help keep the voltage above 12v when loaded a little, but the higher voltage requires less current at the same time. Be careful though, if you do see a pot, make SMALL changes while watching the voltage. If it doesn't change, put that pot back to the original position because it's being used for something else. If the trimmer pot is not there, you can sometimes force a little better regulation by adding (or increasing) the preload on the 5v and/or 3.3v rail. It sucks that all PSUs are not built the same because what works for one doesn't work for the other...